Feathered Dinosaur Fossils Were Found In New Mexico

A team of paleontologists had found the remains of a feathered dinosaur, which is thought to be among the last raptor dinosaurs before the mass-extinction event took place.

The impressive bipedal creature had a whiplash-type tail that facilitated movement at high speed, in a similar fashion to how big felines use their tails to maintain their balance while they run after prey. It has been named Dinebellator, after the indigenous population which inhabited the area.

Researchers are confident that Dinebellator is one of the last raptor species that roamed the Earth. Its body possesses all the traits which are needed for a specialized hunter, among which we can count sharp teeth and powerful limps that were used to immobilize and kill the prey. While a height of three and a half feet may not seem too impressive, it was more than enough to allow the creature to be a swift hunter, and the seven-foot length compensated the reduced size.

About The Recently Found Feathered Dinosaur

Dineobellator may have been as long as a wolf, but it was considerably lighter as the body was optimized for agility and speed. This trait makes the Dineobellator lighter than the infamous velociraptor featured in the iconic movie Jurassic Park but also more dangerous.

Several fossils fragments have been found in the San Juan Basin, located in New Mexico, an area that has housed interesting fossils in the past. Skull, ribs, leg, wink, and spine fragments have been recovered by the team and analyzed.

Analysis data infer that the species lived 67 million years ago, less than one million years before dinosaurs met their demise after the massive asteroid impact triggered global changes. Traces of violence have been observed on one of the hand claws, and it is thought that fights for resources or partners may have taken place. A paper was published in a scientific journal.